A RESIDENTS only parking scheme which is supposedly badly needed in the Middletown and Regents areas of Skipton may not go ahead because of apathy.

Not enough people have responded to a consultation exercise which means the plans to prevent commuters and day trippers using the residential streets to avoid car parking charges may be scrapped.

Last month North Yorkshire County Council sent out 844 questionnaires to the affected homes in Middletown and the lower part of the Regents estate asking for their opinions.

The council got back 396 replies - of these 289 households said yes to the proposals while 85 turned them down.

The tally of yes votes, added to the 53 Craven Housing properties in the area, means that 41 per cent of householders are in favour of the scheme.

But this falls well short of the 55 per cent local approval that the county council says it needs before the scheme can be implemented.

And, although not making an objection, the police have expressed concern about the displacement of vehicles on to other streets not covered by the scheme.

Residents only parking could be scrapped on Thursday when members of Craven Area Committee meet to decide the next steps.

Frustrated homeowners living around Sackville Street and Westmoreland Street in Middletown and Consort Street, Windsor Avenue and Princes Drive at the foot of Regents have been campaigning for years for the zones.

They say they cannot park near their homes due to commuters and shoppers taking up spaces.

Coun Robert Heseltine, whose ward covers Middletown, said: "The lack of response to the survey is disappointing.

"For the scheme to proceed we need 55 per cent of households to be in favour. The results shows 41 per cent are in favour, which does not meet the threshold.

"It's my intention that a few members of Craven Area Committee along with the officers analyse the survey results and find out what type of results came from which streets and also analyse the comments that were written on the forms."

Coun Heseltine said residents parking would not be instantly dismissed due to the poor response.

He said: "It's still very much a live issue and in no way will it be left dead in the water. The chaos continues and the solution is yet to be identified."

As part of the residents parking scheme, the county council's intention was to sell parking permits to householders on the affected streets.

The envisaged cost of an annual permit was £20 for the first car at an address, £30 for the second car and £60 for subsequent cars.

Visitors to people living in the houses would also be allowed to park by displaying a one-day scratch card. The likely cost of these cards was 10p each.

The county council had proposed different rules for different types of street, although disabled badge holders would be exempt from the parking controls.

Free resident parking permits would also be made available to doctors, nurses and healthcare workers who visited residents on a regular basis.

The restrictions would be in force between 9am and 6pm and would be enforced by Craven District Council on behalf of North Yorkshire.

If the scheme does go ahead, it could be introduced in September or October this year.

The council will then look at rolling it out to the Cavendish Street, Keighley Road, Gargrave Road and Salisbury Street areas of Skipton.